Deploying IT resources
(MIS 533)
MBS in Management Information Systems and
Managerial Accounting Systems
(2006 / 2007)
Fergal Carton
Business Information Systems
This week
• Revision
• Review of reading material
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Topics covered
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
SAD methodologies
Infrastructure planning
Strategic dimension of data management
Requirements analysis and systems design
Process modelling
Data modelling
Enterprise systems
Database development (MS Access and Oracle).
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Database design
• Why do we have DB’s?
– speed
– volume
– reduction of error
• It’s usually about managing customers and suppliers
– eg. SMART Telecom, contacting customers when landline suspended?
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
What is Systems development
Systems development refers to all activities that
go into producing an IS solution :
–
–
–
–
–
–
Systems Analysis
Modeling
Design
Implementation
Testing
Maintenance
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Understanding requirements ...
• Analysing problems
–
–
–
–
–
Functional decomposition
Process specification
Flow Charts
Use case
Activity diagrams
• Designing solutions
– Data flow diagrams
– Entity relationship model
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
What is so difficult about
Analysis and Design?
• It involves listening, understanding,
documenting and clarifying
• It takes time, patience and humility
• It works best within a framework
(methodology)
• Design always influenced by experience
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Requirements discovery
• Meetings with users (who, when, what outcome, …)
• Checklist of questions that clarify user requirements
• Describe existing processes
– Document how things are currently done
– Review inputs and outputs of current process (screens, forms, reports)
– Outline problems with current way of doing things (speed, risk of error,
…)
– What improvements are expected from system (single point of data
entry, faster reports, less manual work, …)
• How to design and communicate the proposed solution
– Review requirements documentation
– Walk-through solution
– Get sign-off from users
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Collecting requirements
•
•
•
•
•
Interviews with key individuals
Observation of activities
Consultation of documentation
Surveys
Targets:
–
–
–
–
As-Is +
New requirements
Brown papers
Staff
Suppliers
Customers
Other constituencies when needed (eg: vendors…)
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Fact finding techniques
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Sampling of existing forms and files
Site visits
Observation of work environment
Research of similar systems
Surveys of users and management
Interviews of users and management
Prototyping
Joint Requirements Planning (JRP)
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Building a model
• Process Flow
• Data Flow Diagram
–
–
–
–
Processes
Data Flow
Data store
Entities
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Bad analysis
•
•
•
•
•
•
Cost
Delay
Dissatisfaction leading to mis-use or dis-use
High maintenance / enhancement costs
Unreliability / down-time
Reputation of IT suffers
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Production planning analysis
• Planning approaches
– Build to Plan
– Build to Order
– Consigment stocks (Depuy J&J)
• Inventory consumption (Work Order, Process Order)
• Replenishment approach
–
–
–
–
Lead times
MRP
Economic Order Quantity
Depends on value / lead time of item
• Difference between process and discrete manufacturing
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Design should reflect purpose
• Boole 6 exercise:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Room scheduling
Room maintenance
Fire & Safety
AV
Security
Finance
…
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
SAD methodologies
•
Data oriented techniques today
•
Think about who is using the system (& context)
•
Importance of getting requirements right
– Allow for growth, scalability
– Prototype early, prototype often
– …
•
Reality (moves on) versus system design (once only) : Gap between physical
and virtual
•
…
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Bad systems design
• Slow to use
• Doesn’t allow for all situations
• Data is wrong
• Bureaucratic headache
• …
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
• Miao
Your examples 1
– Detergent Marketing & Sales System
– Paper based
– Supporting foreign character sets
• Ronan
–
–
–
–
–
SAP based customer support system for ESB
Cutomer # , A/C # , Phone # , Address, Builder address, …
Customer identification when address changes
Customer identification when mobile no. changes
MPRN# going digital with intelligent meters
• Maritta
–
–
–
–
Travel bookings on Worldspan / Gallileo
Airlines, seat class, seat costs, …
Dynamic packaging
Double booking on airline seats
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Your examples 2
• Jennifer
–
–
–
–
PrimeTime fashion retail POS system
Order placed when not in stock
Deposit taken
Difference between customer requirements and order
• Pamela
– DairyGold sales reporting by customer
– Sales data from Cross Target system by customer or by Product
– Collated in Excel
• Deirdre
– Pharmacy POS application
– GMS code gives customer history: confidentiality
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Your examples 3
• Shane
– Quality Assurance database for cheese samples (volume)
– What information recorded (Day, palette, …)
– Handwritten records
• Ally
–
–
–
–
Gathering EMC customer order details via email
Faxed into DB
Creation of PO
Late changes!
• Ross
–
–
–
–
300 Coeliac questionnaires
175 entries
Correlations (eg. % Male / Female, …)
Personal traits
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Your examples 4
• Leona
– Take5 EasyPay
– Enter hours, deductions
– Dealing with events (emergency tax, Print P30, Hold back pay,
…)
• Niamh
– Supermarket point of sale system: scanning products at till
– Activating new products (special offers)
– De-activating old products
• Katie
–
–
–
–
–
Golf club membership system for 1700 members (Access)
Due date for renewal = Join date + 12 (query on 1st of month)
Alphabetic listing of members for renewal not optimal
GUI # not always asked for (eg. renewal request refers to name)
Reductions for husband
wife
members
MBS&
(MIMAS)
/ MIS533
/ Deploying IT Resources
Your examples 5
• Fiona
–
–
–
–
–
Prescriptions management for Pharmacy
DPS # and PPS # same, no link to GMS #?
One number per family, when do members get own number?
GMS entitlement has expiry date
Tracking spend: anything > €85 per family per month per pharmacy is reimbursed
– No centralised database for all pharmacies
– Doctor must have signed prescription
– How to recognise fraudulent prescriptions
• Catriona
– MPS for pharmacies (McLernon’s and Systems Solutions)
– Most implementation issues to do with user willingness to change
• Eg. Force entry of doctor’s address?
– Ethical vs. control issues for pharmacist
– Electronic prescription uncompetitive
– Roll out of new versions of s/w
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Your examples 6
• Derek
–
–
–
–
–
Quality control for Guinness
Test samples from franchised breweries
Test data stored (ph, alcohol, colour, …)
Tolerance ranges
Annual prize / discount for high achievers
• Aidan
–
–
–
–
Interbank Accounts System for TSB
One transactional screen (deposits / lodgements)
One query screen (balances, mortgage payments, …)
Search limited to 3 chars (firstname, surname)
• Ray
– SIFASoft for Electronic Point of Sale (EPOS)
– Response time on price for products with long history
• Aidan?
– Sage Accounting package
– Entering transactions, coding of accounts
– Issue knowing which account to use for suppliers
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Your examples 7
• Kerrrie
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
MICROS restaurant management system in hotel
Card swipe for user log on
Records table #, # guests, room # and menu choices
Sends menu options to kitchen
Charges against room # or cash payment
“Meals away” signal to indicate table readiness for next course
Faster, more efficient for kitchen, data entry overhead for waiters
Didn’t deal well with exceptions (eg. dietary preferences)
• Johanna
– Supermarket till and stock management
– Unrecognised barcode items activated manually (slow) or enetered
under “Grocery open” items (loss of sales reporting accuracy)
– Out of date promotions staying on system, company losing money!
– Supplier changing barcode (eg. SBP) so started using PLU’s
– PLU’s hard to remember, sometimes chosen for wrong reason
– Supplieres delivering Saturday: problem for stock-taking
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
• David
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Your examples 8
RAVEN system for managing insurance policies
Records policy details and options (commercial, personal, car, home, …)
Generates quotes based on rates from major financial institutions
Updates daily with new rates (reboot system to update)
Prints off reminders for renewals
Policy transfers
Sets up Direct Debits, “Big Red Book” to connect to AIB to process
receipts and balance cash
• Michael
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
MICROS system in Rebel Pubs group
Tills connected by broadband to head office
Staff use swipe cards for access and clocking in / out
Used for sales, stock take, wastage, staff drinks, …
Real time data available for head office
One till slower than others?
Staff might prefer old system
Automated spirits dispenser in some cases (vulnerable to power cuts!)
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Drugs payment, welfare & health care
•
•
•
•
•
One PPS number (=DPS)
Prescriptions recorded in detail
Link to welfare payments or entitlements?
Link to treatment in hospital
National coverage required
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
PreMs (Prescription Mgt System)
• Entities (GP, Pharmacist, Hospital, Patients,
Drugs, HSE, …)
• Process flows
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Patient visits GP
Symptoms analysed
Diagnosis
Prescription
Purchase drugs
Verify DPS spend level against ceiling (€85)
Refund pharmacist
Report on costs and consumption
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Visio narratives
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Grocery Store
ATM
Budget monitoring
UCC room operations and administration
PreMs (Prescription Mgt System)
Bill of Materials for Hans Ltd
RyanAir ticket purchase
StayHome Video Rentals (handout)
Cork Film festival
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Types of data
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Volume data (production)
consumption data (raw material, packaging…)
personnel data
maintenance data
time related measurements
productivity data
All form the basis of the calculations used to
monitor manufacturing activities
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Topics covered
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
SAD methodologies
Infrastructure planning
Strategic dimension of data management
Requirements analysis and systems design
Process modelling
Data modelling
Enterprise systems
Database development (MS Access and Oracle).
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Key benefits of ERP
•
•
•
•
•
Single point of data entry (PO’s, SO’s, …)
Inventory control
Opportunity to re-design business processes
Single technical platform (support)
Common language, common pool of data
Sales
Shipping
Collect cash
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
ERP integration
• ERP to automate supply and demand processes
– Planners still use spreadsheets!
• Impact of ERP
– Greater control, visibility
– Less flexibility and localisation
• ERP single instance systems architecture
– simplification of management, maintenance, skills
– Vulnerability and performance impact?
• Integration, what does it mean?
– Physical integration (PDA + mobile phone =BlueBerry)
– Data integration (Outlook contacts synchronised with phone
contacts)
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Integration downsides
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Response times
Vulnerability: single point of failure
Limitations on expansion
Dependence on single vendor
Flexibility to change system
…
…
Access to basic information is complicated
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Critical Success Factors
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
(Parr & Shanks, 2000)
People
Top management Support
Full-time release of business experts
Empowered decision makers
Project
Realistic milestones and end date
Steering Committee determines scope & goals
Smaller scope
Champion
Vanilla ERP
Technology
Balanced team
Commitment to change
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
ERP projects: resources required
Technical
Functional analysts
Application expert
DBA’s / Sys Admin
Software vendor
Hardware vendor
Project
Business process
Project team
Process leads
Project Managers
Users / power users
User management
Steering Committee
Systems Integrator
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Team creation
•
•
•
•
•
•
Multi-disciplinary
Full time
Decision making power
Budget
Representative – team leads
Balance between allegiance to team and to area of
competence
• Team spirit
• Team awareness
• Must have support from organisation
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Team Characteristics
•
•
•
•
Typical size: 25 to 60+ FTE
Team leads: 10 to 20
Functional area experts
Special roles:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Project manager
Integration manager
Data conversion and migration
Training manager
Hardware / IT specialist
Platform expert
Communication about project (internal & external)
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Post Go Live
• Team is disbanded
– Back into business
– Promoted
– Next wave of roll out
• Structure is permanently altered – eg: shared services
• ERP team put in place
–
–
–
–
–
–
Data experts / maintenance
Application experts – on-going developments and fixes
Platform experts – uptime
Business analysts – look to future releases and future requirements
Typical size 20 /25 staff full time for a multinational
Various names used – eg: knowledge centre
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Hans Project
• Process questions
–
–
–
–
–
Build to plan / build to stock?
What drives invoicing, shipment?
What drives production scheduling?
What of invoicing required in non-Euro currency?
…
• Project management
–
–
–
–
Time to complete project underestimated
Timing of teaching versus deliverables expected
Skills (Analysis & Design, Access, VB)
…
• Technical
– Equipment (h/w and s/w)
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Hans project
• Technical issues?
– Data
– Operations
• Project issues?
• Business issues?
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Resources : process
•
•
•
•
•
•
Process lead
Functional analyst
Power users
Application specialist
Users
…
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Resources : Financial Controller
• Having seconded the AP manager to the project for 18
months …
– Just after go-live, lost the AP manager
– Basic functionality missing
• Statutory reports for countries
• Unmatched receiver report
• arguments over Break-Fix vs. Enhancement
– Lost understanding of why things were done in a certain way
• Knowledge of application
• Knowledge of business processes in the US
– Worse: lost ability to get things fixed!
•
•
•
•
Prioritisation of SIRs (System Investigation Requests)
Reports written by end-users (eg. AP Manager)
Local IS or global IS now working to gobal requirements
Can’t customise the application
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Project issues
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Availability of team members / users
Decision making processes
Developing workarounds
Timeline too tight to allow resolution of issues
Massive learning curve for team
Expectation management
Retaining ownership of process related decisions
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
What can go wrong: data
• Data not available
– feature activated from implementation onwards
– Massive manual data entry (?)
– Eg: different account structure
• Incomplete data
– Some fields are missing
•
•
•
•
Inconsistent data (eg: engineering vs accounts)
Wrong level of granularity
Data not clean - incorrect
Most new system requires changes due to their
different data structure / activity system
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Resources : Technical (data)
•
•
•
•
•
•
Data clean-up team
Data conversion team
Data conversion programmer
Legacy data team
Data quality testing and maintenance
…
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
PPARS project
• Governance
• Complexity
–
–
–
–
–
–
Job title
Responsibilities
No payscale
Bonuses
Overtime
Link roster to payroll?
• Resources
• Business process change, not system issue
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Database issues …
• Guaranteeing “high availability”
• How often should Test be refreshed?
• How many environments should I have
–
–
–
–
–
–
Test
Production
Development
Training
Business Simulation
…
• If I implement a change to Production, do I need to implement
the same change across all environments?
• 20 programmers developing / testing new code every day: how
do I track releases to production?
• …
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Systems admin issues …
• Ensuring system access for users
•
•
•
•
•
•
New users
Changes to existing profiles
System downtime for maintenance
Forcing users out of system
Tracking source of corrupt data to user profile
…
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
HelpDesk issues …
• Calls arriving at HelpDesk are either :
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Forgotten password
New user
Changes to user profile
Printing problems
Connectivity problems
Response time problems
System crashes
System error messages
PC problems
I need more training
…
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Single instance
•
•
•
•
•
One system clock
One copy of the production data
One version of master data
One transaction engine
One database administrator
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
What is the common data model?
•
Products
–
–
–
–
–
–
•
Marketing
Products for Sales orders
Inventory availability for commit dates
Up to date prices
Production planning
Logisitics and distribution
Customers
– Marketing
– Sales orders
– Logisitics and distribution
•
Money
– Invoicing
– Revenue reporting
– Cost forecasting and control
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Single instance database issues …
• Business process issues?
• Support issues?
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Single instance database issues …
• Business process issues?
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Shared master data: you’ll see all of it!
New master data creation (customer, BOM, …)
Data ownership is centralised
Reporting: getting access to transactional information
System modification requests (eg. local interface)
Data integrity focus slows operational processes
Workarounds: source of inefficiency
Printing! Your desktop printer now needs configuring
…
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Single instance database issues …
• Support issues?
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Local expertise vital (eg. power users)
Modifications for local requirements rare
Access to data will be more restricted
“Follow the sun” support for global users
Shrinking window of downtime for maintenance
Communicating the impact of centralisation in advance
…
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
What did Cisco do right?
• Team structure (cf. Exhibit 4)
• Relationship with Steering Committee (address
committee members questions before the meeting)
• Bought KPMG experience, not greenies
• Team calibre (handpicked the very best)
• Short project, not a career change
• Seen as the opportunity for advancement
• Bonus, incentivising engagement
• …
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
What did Cisco do wrong?
• 1st implementation of a new release or
Oracle?
• Deadline driven by go-live date, not scope?
• Replace all systems, big bang, 9 months
• Scope creep
– Major modifications required
– Oracle wouldn’t support after-sales
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
What did Cisco do wrong?
• Data warehouse requirement incorporated only at CRP2
• Under-engagement of IT until late in the day (from 30
developers to the entire dept. (100 people)
• What happened IT support for other applications / services
during that period, and after go-live?
• Frequent system downtime due to hardware architecture
• Poor final testing: things breaking at high transaction
volumes
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
What did Cisco do wrong?
• Sizing tests, why didn’t they work?
• Processes tested sequentially, not
simultaneously
• Partially loaded database used
• No conversion of legacy data
• Renumbered customers, products, changed
BOM’s
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
What did Cisco do wrong?
• On-time ship fell from 95% to 75%
• Pressure to go-live, no one functional lead
can say stop it
• 30 people from hardware vendor on-site at
one point after go-live
• 3 months chaos, was it worth it?
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
What did Cisco do wrong?
•
•
•
•
Dot.com bust led economic downturn
Did they see it coming?
ERP = today’s information, not tomorrow’s
If forecasts were wrong, was that the ERP
system’s fault?
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Recommended reading
• Database Solutions : A step by step guide to building databases,
Connolly & Begg (2000), Addison Wesley
o Corporate Information Strategy & Management, Applegate, Austin &
McFarlan (McGraw Hill, 2003)
– Cisco case study
– Other ERP implementation cases (eg. Xerox, Harley Davidson)
• Other ERP related articles
– What went wrong at Cisco, Berinato 2001
– Virtual Close fails to work at Cisco, Cope 2001
– Blaming ERP, Osterland 2000
– From means to ends: The transformation of ERP in a manufacturing
company (Boersma & Kingma, 2005)
– Project Management for ERP Implementations, Carton & Adam (2007)
– Parr & Shanks 2000…
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Do your own research!
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources
Do your own research!
• Systems Analysis & Design, Whitten, Bentley & Dittman
(2001)
• The enterprise resource planning decade : lessons learned
and issues for the future, Frederic Adam, David Sammon
(2004)
• …
• Use EBSCO
• Use references at end of any article
MBS (MIMAS) / MIS533 / Deploying IT Resources